THE RAISING OF THE COSTA CONCORDIA
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News in Review – November 2013 – Teacher Resource Guide
THE RAISING OF THE COSTA CONCORDIA
SETTING THE STAGE:
From Tragedy to
Engineering Feat
Imagine vacationing with your family
on a luxury cruise ship, visiting exotic
places and enjoying live entertainment
and excellent meals; if you can, you
are not alone! Over the last few years
the popularity of cruises has
skyrocketed. Globally in 2012, over
20 million people took a cruise!
(www.telegraph.co.uk, September 13, 2013) bottle christening the ship failed to break; this
Cruise lines have designed travel packages that was seen as a bad omen by many mariners. The
are affordable, themed —such as Disney cruises ship was 17 stories high and included the usual
that appeal to young families — and stop near amenities — restaurants, swimming pools,
major global tourist sites. To accommodate this theatres, spas, and a huge central atrium that
huge market, bigger and bigger ships have been extended over nine decks. It also had the latest
built that can carry the equivalent of a small state of the art navigational technology and the
town. The current largest cruise ship, Royal latest generation of engines. The ship was
Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas, can carry 6 300 assigned to the Mediterranean Sea route with
passengers and 2 394 crew members! This ship stops along the coasts of Italy and Spain. The
and others include numerous decks, restaurants, captain of the ship was Francesco Schettino who
theatres, activity rooms and swimming pools. had been with the cruise company since 2002,
One even has an artificial ice rink! working in security and as second in command
prior to acquiring the captaincy of the Costa
As popular as these cruises have become, there Concordia. He was a popular captain and was
has been concern about the safety of these respected by his peers. The voyage was expected
floating towns. There have been incidents where to be routine, with a full complement of
ships lost power at sea, fires broke out, or passengers and crew on board.
viruses spread among the crew and passengers.
Yet the cruise industry claims that this method The ship set sail at 7 p.m. on January 13, 2012.
of travel is one of the safest in the world. In Shortly thereafter the passengers headed to one
January 2012, this claim was challenged when of the many restaurants for dinner. The ship
the Italian cruise ship, Costa Concordia, ran slowly made its way along the Italian coastline
aground, killing 32 people. How could such a towards the island of Giglio in Tuscany. As the
technical marvel as this ship capsize and result ship approached this area, Captain Schettino was
in so many deaths and wounded? on the bridge along with his friend and the ship’s
maitre d’, Antonello Tievoli, a native of Giglio.
Costa Concordia’s ill omen The captain decided to honour his friend by
The Costa Concordia was launched in 2006 with performing a salute to the residents of the area.
an inauspicious debut when the champagne This involved the ship slowly moving close to
News in Review ∙ CBC Learning ∙ newsinreview.cbclearning.ca 21
NOVEMBER 2013 — THE RAISING OF THE COSTA CONCORDIA
land in full display to impress the locals. This damage. They looked to the crew for
was not an unusual practice, and Captain information and guidance. At first the crew was
Schettino had performed it at least once before. told there had been an electrical problem and the
The captain expected the ship to come within appropriate action was being taken to solve the
approximately 700 metres from shore. He felt issue. Many passengers, however, believed this
that was far enough from the reefs to avoid any was incorrect and began scrambling to the
danger. However as the ship manoeuvred, outside decks with their life jackets. What the
following the captain’s orders at a relative fast passengers and many crew members did not
speed of 15 knots, it hit submerged rocks at 9:42 know was that the ship had a 70 metre gouge
p.m.. The first sign of trouble came when the below the waterline and water was flooding the
lights went out. Many passengers felt the initial ship’s engine generators.
collision; it was followed by a harder blow that
sent dishes and furniture flying around the With no power the ship began to drift out to sea.
rooms. The night of horror had begun! It was clear that if the ship was not contained
close to shore it could completely sink, with
Blunders and delays many causalities and deaths. It appears that the
Most passengers realized something dramatic captain may have successfully powered up a
had occurred but did not know the extent of the reserve generator and steered the ship to shore,
News in Review ∙ CBC Learning ∙ newsinreview.cbclearning.ca 22
NOVEMBER 2013 — THE RAISING OF THE COSTA CONCORDIA
or the prevailing winds and currents guided the Captain abandons sinking ship
ship. Some passengers had called relatives and Captain Schettino had decided at this time that
friends on shore, and soon word reached the he would also abandon ship, and while
Italian Coast Guard that there was some type of retrieving items from his cabin, he claimed to
incident involving the ship. When a captain of have slipped and fallen into a lifeboat.
the Coast Guard contacted the ship he was told
there was no immediate emergency, that there As the ship continued to roll over, those
had been an issue with the electrical system and passengers still inside feared that the ship would
that the situation was under control. However as completely turn over and trap them inside.
more calls were made to people on shore by People tried to scramble up to the side of ship
panicked passengers, it became clear there was that was still above the water. One passenger
something more serious happening. managed to acquire a rope and used it to help
people scurry down the side of the ship to
At 10:28 the Italian Coast Guard operations waiting rescue boats. This was a difficult
center called on all available ships to head to the process as the side of the ship was slippery.
collision site to offer assistance. At this point the Many elderly passengers did not understand the
ship began to list on its side, creating panic process or were too frightened to take the
among the passengers and crew. As passengers chance. However with the help of some
tried to make their way towards the decks, it was international sign signals and assistance,
hard to believe that the captain still had not passengers were able to navigate the route.
given the order to abandon ship. In fact when
some passengers questioned the crew they were While these events were taking place, Captain
told to return to their cabins and await further Schettino was contacted on his cell phone by
instructions. one of the Coast Guard supervisors. The captain
indicated he had left the ship. The supervisor
After the Costa Concordia settled on the rocks was stunned that the captain would leave the
and began to list even further, authorities on ship while there were still people on board. This
shore began a rescue operation. Ships headed to went against the most basic maritime law that
the site and marine helicopters were called into the captain remains on the ship until all
service. The local hotel and church were opened, passengers and crew have been safely evacuated.
ready to received rescued passengers. Finally at The captain was ordered to return to the ship and
10:58 the order was given to abandon ship. By coordinate the rescue operations. He claimed he
this time over 2 000 passengers were lined up on was in the process of helping rescue passengers
the decks, many wearing only their night clothes from his boat and soon landed on shore.
while waiting to be evacuated. Once the lifeboat
gates were opened, people rushed forward and Captain Schettino was located at 11:40 p.m. and
mass panic ensued. Families were separated, was taken away by a representative of the cruise
people were screaming, children were crying, company.
and there seemed to be no one in charge. Slowly
By 5 a.m. almost the entire ship’s complement
order was restored, and by 12:15 over 3 000
was rescued, but unfortunately 32 people would
people had been safely evacuated from the
die due to drowning or hypothermia.
stricken ship. At this time, however, the ship
continued to roll on its starboard side and many
people were forced to jump and swim to shore.
News in Review ∙ CBC Learning ∙ newsinreview.cbclearning.ca 23
NOVEMBER 2013 — THE RAISING OF THE COSTA CONCORDIA
Efforts turn to salvage The answer was provided by basic physics —
In the morning light it was clear that although parbuckling. The submerged section of the ship
the vast majority of people were safe, the would have chains connected to the land which
crippled ship now lay on its side and posed a would act as a stabilizing feature. The visible
huge threat to the environment. Now the focus section would have metal compartments
shifted from a rescue to a salvage operation. attached to it and they would be filled with
water. As the water filled the compartments, the
After the rescue operation was over, divers were weight would gradually cause the ship to slowly
sent into the submerged section of the ship to move upright. The basic work to attach the
attempt to locate the remains of the missing. cables and compartments took a number of
Thirty bodies were located and removed from months, and the actual operation took 19 hours.
the ship.
It was the largest such operation in maritime
Now the authorities had to deal with how to history. It was a testament to the ingenuity and
remove the ship from the rocks and float it to a hard work of the international corps of engineers
suitable harbour. It was decided that once the that such a task was successfully completed.
ship was safely removed and transported it
would be cut up for scrap metal; there would be The story of the Costa Concordia is still not
no future Costa Concordias. The first priority completed. The ship is resting upright and plans
was to drain the fuel tanks before the gas and oil are being made to move it for dismantling.
polluted the sensitive waters of Giglio. Captain Schettino and 5 other crew members are
on trial for their actions. The captain faces
Once this was completed engineers investigated manslaughter charges. Although technology
their options. They needed to right the ship and could not prevent the Costa Concordia’s demise
then either tow it to a port or place it on a barge it was able to safely remove it and avoid further
that would take it to a safe haven. The question destruction.
was how do you upright a ship weighing over
114 000 tons that was deteriorating in salt water
and open to the elements?
Dramatic recovery effort
This short clip from The National offers excellent animation and time‐lapse footage of the operation
to upright the Costa Concordia:
cbc.ca/player/Shows/Shows/The+National/About+the+Show/Sasa+Petricic/ID/2406722823/
News in Review ∙ CBC Learning ∙ newsinreview.cbclearning.ca 24NOVEMBER 2013 — THE RAISING OF THE COSTA CONCORDIA
VIDEO REVIEW
Pre‐viewing
1. Have you taken a cruise? If so, what did you like about it? Did you have any concerns about traveling
on such a large vessel? Did you notice any safety precautions?
2. After passengers were removed from the Costa Concordia, it was decided to try and upright the ship
from the rocky area on which it rested. What might be the challenges of uprighting the ship?
3. What plan would you recommend to raise this ship? (As you watch the video, keep your own ideas in
mind and compare them to the actual procedure carried out by the engineers.)
While viewing
1. Why did Italians feel so responsible for the sinking and raising of the Costa Concordia? Do you think
their feelings were justified?
2. What evidence can you find that indicates there was little organization to help passengers escape the
ship? What could have been done to calm the passengers?
3. What explanations can you provide regarding the captain’s actions that night? Categorize your points
under titles such as reasons condemning the captain, and reasons sympathetic to the captain. Which
reasons do you find more compelling?
Condemning Sympathetic
News in Review ∙ CBC Learning ∙ newsinreview.cbclearning.ca 25NOVEMBER 2013 — THE RAISING OF THE COSTA CONCORDIA
4. Why would the authorities decide to risk raising the vessel and not just dismantle it where it sank?
5. Do you think the technological feat of raising the Costa Concordia demonstrated that technology has
more positive than negative uses?
Post‐viewing
1. Should cruise ships be automated with just a small crew to oversee passages to avoid future sinkings?
To help you organize your information you can use the following chart.
Arguments supporting the idea Arguments against the idea Decision
2. It is ironic that the sinking of the Costa Concordia happened 100 years after the sinking of the Titanic.
Compare the sinking of the Costa Concordia to the Titanic. Which event do you think was the more
significant?
• See the following site which provides a comparison: www.livescience.com/18004-costa-
concordia-titanic-comparison.html.
• Use the Historical Significance worksheet on the News in Review website to help you decide:
newsinreview.cbclearning.ca/worksheets/historical_significance/
3. Reviewing the information on the events of the sinking of the Costa Concordia, what suggestions
would you make to try and ensure such a disaster does not occur again? Working with a partner or
group to identify the various events that lead to the sinking and poor evacuation and suggest possible
solutions.
Problem/concern Possible solution
News in Review ∙ CBC Learning ∙ newsinreview.cbclearning.ca 26NOVEMBER 2013 — THE RAISING OF THE COSTA CONCORDIA
4. How safe are current cruise ships? Examine a website for a cruise line and analyze one of the ships.
For a sample site to begin your research see the following information from Carnival Cruise Lines:
www.carnival.com/legal/safety-security.aspx. To help you organize the information you could
complete a K-W-L chart:
What I WANT to know
What I KNOW What I LEARNED
(need to research)
News in Review ∙ CBC Learning ∙ newsinreview.cbclearning.ca 27You can also read
